匹 generally counts small animals such as cats and fish; 頭 generally counts large animals such as horses and elephants.

The idea

Put the number before the counter: 一匹 is いっぴき, 三匹 is さんびき and 六匹 is ろっぴき. 一頭 is いっとう; ask 何匹（なんびき） or 何頭（なんとう）. The quantity can follow the noun, as in 猫が一匹います.

Patterns to compare
FormReading
一匹いっぴき
二匹にひき
三匹さんびき
六匹ろっぴき
八匹はっぴき
十匹じゅっぴき／じっぴき
何匹なんびき
一頭いっとう
二頭にとう
三頭さんとう
何頭なんとう

Examples

  • 庭にわに猫ねこが一匹いっぴきいます。There is one cat in the garden.
  • 魚さかなを二匹にひき飼かっています。I have two fish.
  • 公園こうえんで犬いぬを三匹さんびき見みました。I saw three dogs in the park.
  • うさぎが六匹ろっぴきいます。There are six rabbits.
  • 牧場ぼくじょうに馬うまが一頭いっとういます。There is one horse on the farm.
  • ぞうが何頭なんとういますか。How many elephants are there?

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Size is a useful guide, not an absolute biological rule: usage varies by animal and context. Birds are usually counted with 羽, not 匹.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading in hiragana: 一匹

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    いっぴき

    一匹 is いっぴき: いち shortens and 匹 becomes ぴき.

  2. Write the reading in hiragana: 三匹

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    さんびき

    三匹 is さんびき: 匹 is voiced to びき after 三.

  3. Write the reading in hiragana: 二頭

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    にとう

    二頭 is にとう: 頭 remains とう after 二.

Use it today

Count cats and horses, then ask how many animals there are.